Baghdad, Iraq – A fire broke out at an ammunition depot at a U.S. base in southern Baghdad on Tuesday night, setting off a series of explosions from detonating tank and artillery shells that shook buildings miles away. The U.S. military said there were no immediate reports of casualties.
It was not clear whether the depot at Forward Operating Base Falcon was hit by an attack. The cause of the fire was not immediately known, said Lt. Col. Christopher Garver, a military spokesman.
Explosions from detonating tank and artillery ordnance and small-arms ammunition stored at the site went off for hours after the fire broke out. Large flames flared, and smoke rose from the area. Flashes from the blasts and showers of sparks were visible on the horizon from several miles away in central Baghdad, where the force of the explosions could be felt. The blasts came at times sporadically, at times in rapid succession, lasting into the night.
Helicopters were seen in the night sky flying over the area.
Authorities were “trying to determine the cause or any threat to the population,” Garver said.
Falcon is in a former commercial trucking depot in a sprawling industrial area at the southern entrance of Baghdad, near the violence-torn district of Dora.
